“Great format to come back into bowling again isn’t it, T20?” Stokes joked in a Sky Sports interview. “I said at the end of [the] Wellington [Test], it’s been a very frustrating year – that’s how long it’s been, bowling with this knee problem. Not being able to fulfil my role properly as fourth seamer has been frustrating.”
Stokes has bowled 174.3 overs in his 12 Tests since his appointment as England’s permanent captain, but managed only nine during their recent two-match series in New Zealand. Ahead of the Ashes, which starts on June 16 at Edgbaston, he hopes to ensure he will be able to contribute fully with the ball.
“I’ve worked so hard over the last month, five weeks, to get to where I am now,” Stokes said. “Being able to bowl pain-free, touch wood, has been good. Even [on Monday] night, I went for 18 runs but I was like, ‘I managed to bowl an over without any pain in my knee.’
“That’s down to a lot of hard work that I’ve done away from [the game] medically, in the gym, and obviously I’ve had a bit of help with some cortisone injections, but everything is going nicely. I’ll just take it step by step and not look to rush myself in too much, because obviously the main priority for me is making sure that I can fulfil my role as fourth seamer in the Ashes.”